Crimson Day
by simonxriley
Summary: After Ghost and Roach survived Shepherd's onslaught, they confess their true feelings for one another. Agreeing on leaving this life behind, they decide to buy a house together.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've had this idea for a few months now and I finally decided to write it. This is pretty much is just domestic Ghost/Roach. The only thing I changed is Soap doesn't get injured when he kills Shepherd. Hope you enjoy!**

 **This fic is based off of the song Crimson Day by Avenged Sevenfold. Go look it up, it's fantastic!**

"Well that's one less loose end" Roach bolted upright, chest heaving. Another nightmare. It's been 3 week since Shepherd's betrayal. A sudden pain shot through Roach's stomach, his hand flung over to grasp his bandaged cover torso in hopes of soothing the pain. Once the pain dulled he settle back down into bed. He glanced at the clock to see what time it was...2:00 am. Great, he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep for a while. He slowly sat back up. Getting out of bed, Roach threw on a shirt and decided to head to the rec-room.

He noticed the light was on...someone was up. He opened the door, wondering who else was up. His questioned was answered when he walked in...It's Ghost. Ghost looked up from his book with a scowl on his face, the look automatically softening when he see's Roach. He's not wearing his balaclava. He hasn't since the incident, he didn't care anymore if people saw what he looked liked or not.

Roach got the brute of the attack, he's lucky he got out of the infirmary as fast as he did. He still had a long way to go before he was fully healed, but he was making progress everyday. Ghost didn't get too hurt. A bullet to the shoulder and some extensive burns to his body.

Roach walked over to Ghost sitting next to him on the couch with a sigh. "You either?"

Ghost put his book down and shook his head. Ever since the incident Ghost seemed to be hell bent on being by Roach's side, the only time he wasn't was when he was in bed.

Roach knew it was time for him to move on, become a civilian again. He just couldn't leave Ghost, he wanted him to come live with him. Roach found out about his family and Roba when they were both in the infirmary. He could become Ghosts family. Gary turned to face Ghost, a deep sigh leaving him before he got the courage to finally ask him.

"Ghost?"

"Yeah?" Ghost turned to look in his direction, his blue eyes piercing through his brown ones. Roach always thought Ghost was attractive, even before he saw him without his balaclava. The way he was built, how he seemed to always have his back out on missions, how easy it is to be around him. He didn't know how truly gorgeous he was until he saw him without the mask. He had dark brown hair, blue eyes. He had some scarring on one side of his face, which didn't take away from his beauty.

"I've been thinking about retiring..." The words came out as a whisper. It seemed Ghost heard though by the look on his face.

"Are you?" He looked upset and Roach didn't like that.

"I'm not sure. I...if I do, I'd like you to come with me." He couldn't look Ghost in the eyes, he was too afraid of any rejection he might get. They were always close, since the TF-141 selection up until the Caucasus Mountains. But after the incident, it became something different. Was is pity? Love? or something else. Roach just wanted the man who saved his life over and over again, too stay in his life. Whether as a friend or lover, he didn't care. He looked over to see Ghost staring at him, no facial expression was showing. He didn't think he heard him.

"You...want me to come with you?" Ghost asked after a while. Roach shook his head, he didn't know what else to do. He already knew this was a shot in the dark. "Why?"

"Why?" Roach gave him a confused look. It's almost like Ghost didn't believe him.

"Because I care about you Ghost, and I don't want to leave you alone." Roach's throat started to feel tight, why was he so nervous? He looked at Ghost, hoping to see some reaction.

"Even after everything I did? You would want to share a place with me?" Ghost bit those 2 question out coldly. It made Roach frown.

"What happened isn't your fault Ghost." Roach heard Ghost scoff, did Ghost really blame himself for what happened that day.

"I'm not talking about Shepherd." Ghost said quietly.

"Then what do you mea...are you talking about your family?" Ghost didn't say anything, he just nodded. "You had every right to go after the people who hurt you and your family. I don't care that you tortured and killed those men. The Ghost I know is the one who kicked his abusive dad out of the house, so he could take care of his family. And he did. You helped your brother get clean and you were even the best-man at his wedding. And I'm sorry for what happened to them, they didn't deserve it. But don't you think for a moment that I wouldn't want to share a place with you."

They didn't say anything, they just stared at each other. Then Ghost did something Roach wasn't expecting...he started to cry. Roach's eyes widen slightly at the scene unfolding before him. He didn't know what to do. He's never seen Ghost this vulnerable before. He brought Ghost into a hug, hoping this would help and not make things worse.

"It's okay Ghost, I'm here." Roach said in a calming voice. It took a while before Ghost fully calmed down, once he did, he pulled away from Roach to wipe his eyes.

"Thanks" he mumble.

"You're welcome!"

"I think I would like that." Ghost said after sometime. Roach looked at him with a smile. This was it, he was agreeing to live with him. The only issue is, they would need to find a new place to live before fully leaving the base _. House hunting with Ghost, this should be interesting._

"You sure?" He didn't want to push his friend into doing something he truly didn't want to do.

"I'm sure. I thinks it's time to move on. And with Soap and Price hunting down Shepherd, the 141 will be disavowed soon." Roach knew he was right. Going after Shepherd would cause a lot of problems.

No one cared at any cost, they wanted that traitor dead. Roach looked around the rec-room, the place where he spent a lot of his time with the people he cared about. It was bittersweet, the 141 has been his home for the past 4 years, a lot of memories have been made here. And he met some of his best friends on this base. He would miss it. "Okay. It's kinda sad isn't it?"

"Yeah, and it's all being taking away because of some bloody asshole." Roach could hear the anger in his voice. All because of Shepherd, their home was being taking away from them. Roach tried to think on the bright side. He would be sharing a place with Ghost, a man he loves and maybe civilian life would be good for them. It would also come with some problems, he didn't know how long it'll take Ghost to adjust back into civilian life, if at all. He would be there for him though, to help him when he needs it.

"Yeah." Roach said quietly. They stayed up for a while more before Roach started to yawn.

"Getting tired?" Roach nodded, unable to form a sentence through another yawn. "Why don't you head back to bed then?"

"You're not tired?" Roach quirked a brow in his direction.

"Not really." Roach could tell he was lying. Ghost just didn't want to deal with the endless nightmares.

"It's the nightmares? Isn't it?" Ghost brought his legs up to his chest and curled in on himself.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ghost just shook his head. Roach wanted to help, he didn't know how and he hated that. "Would it help if I was in the same room?"

Ghost looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..I could be there for you when you have a nightmare. I know you haven't been sleeping well, I can tell by the bags under your eyes. I just want you to be okay Ghost."

"Thank you...I know I never said it but, I care about you too Roach. I should have said it long ago but I...I was afraid." Roach looked at him in bewilderment. _What did he mean by afraid?_

"Why were you afraid?" Even after knowing each other for 4 years, Ghost was still a mystery to him.

"You were the first person I befriended after I killed Roba. You were the only other person on base I would talk too. I feel like I can tell you anything...But I was afraid how you would look at me after I told you about my past, before I came here. Care wasn't the right word I used...I love you Gary, you and your messing blonde hair, the way you would argue with Soap about what beer is better and everything about you."

Roach stared at him with his mouth agape. Did he hear him right? Roach saw Ghost was about to get up to leave. A slight panic arising in him, he grabbed his arm. That made Ghost stop in his tracks.

"I love you too Simon, I have for a while. I didn't tell you cause I wasn't sure how you would react." Ghost stared at him dumbfounded before a smile broke out on his face. A smile he never though he would see on Ghost. A smile of pure happiness. Ghost brought him in for a hug. A proper hug this time. The cards were laid on the table and Roach couldn't be happier.

Roach pulled away from Ghost a little so he could yawn, once again. "Does this mean?"

His question was answered when Ghost crushed their lips together. Roach let out a small gasp at the initial contact before returning the kiss. The kiss didn't last long as Ghost would have liked. It lasted all of 10 second before Gary was pulling away to yawn. Ghost let out a small laugh

"I think we should head to bed before you fall asleep here." Ghost chuckled and shook his head.

Roach didn't say anything, he got up from the couch and offered his hand. Ghost took the invitation and got up. Now hand in hand they shut off the lights and headed towards Ghost's room. Once inside Roach fell on the bed. Ghost sat down to take off his boots, looking at a sprawled out bug on his bed. Once he stripped out of most of his clothes he turned to Roach.

"Oi numpty, you gonna get under the covers or what?" Ghost crossed his arms and stared down at him.

"Fine...fine." Roach moved the covers so they were now covering his body, settling back down under them. He could feel the mattress cave a little once Ghost got under the covers. He felt an arm wrapped around him, carefully pulling him until he could fell Ghost's body next to his.

"Goodnight Simon."

"Goodnight Gary"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry this is so short. I'm not sure how long it'll be before chapter 3 since I'm focusing on my other story "We're All We've Got" at the moment. Hope you enjoy!**

Roach awoke when a pain struck his abdomen. He wondered why he felt something heavy draped over his waist. Then he realized he wasn't alone, and he wasn't in his room. Smiling to himself, he gently moved Ghost's arm a little higher above his healing wound. The gesture, unfortunately waking the man up.

"What's going on?" He opened an eye and looked at Roach

"Nothing, when you moved, you accidentally hit my wound."

"Shit...Sorry about that, did I hurt you?" Ghost was now fully awake. Glancing over Roach's body to see if he's done any damage.

"No, just a slight pain, nothing to worry about." Roach smiled at him. He glanced over to the clock while waiting for Ghost to answer. His eyes widened when he saw it read 8:00am. "We should get up..."

"Why?" Ghost settled back down and raised a brow.

"Cause it's eight in the morning and we're not the only ones still on the base."

"Fuck." Ghost leaped outta bed and got dressed. "Why am I rushing? We're both out of commission and we're both retiring." Ghost mumbled to himself. That made Roach laugh. He got up off the bed and stretched.

"I should get dressed too." Roach headed for the door to go back to his room for a change of clothes. Abruptly stopping at the door.

"What's wrong?" Ghost gave him a confused look as he pulled on his pants.

"Check to see if anyone is coming down the hall. I don't need people asking me why I'm in here."

"Right...hold on." Ghost went to his door, opening it and peaked his head out. "Clear."

"Okay...uh should I meet you in the rec-room? or?"

"Yeah, that sounds good...but you're not leaving without this." Ghost crushed their lips together. Roach hummed into it, wishing it would last longer. Ghost pulled away and smiled at the younger man. "Are you just gonna stand there smiling or are you gonna get dressed? ya git."

"I'm going, I'm going" Roach said with a wave of his hand. He left Ghost's room and went to his. He put on a pair of jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt. Sitting down to lazily tie his boots, he started to smile to himself. He never though he would confess his true feelings for the man or that Ghost would feel the same. Now they're both retiring and moving in together, could it get anymore sappy? Once he was done 'tying' his boots, he went to the rec-room.

Opening the door he spotted Ghost in his usual spot. He sat down in front of him, looking at the coffee cup already on the table.

"You didn't need to do that." said Roach, gesturing to the cup.

"I wanted too." Ghost stated simply.

Roach took a sip of his coffee and it was exactly how he liked it _. Apparently Ghost did pay attention._ "Won't people start to wonder why you're getting me coffee?" Roach asked while taking another sip if his coffee.

Ghost looked up from the newspaper he was reading and looked at Roach. His blue eye's piercing into his brown ones. "Hmm probably. Let them. It's not like we'll see them again after Soap and Price are done." Ghost exclaimed.

Roach looked down at his half empty cup. Ghost noticed Roach's sullen state and grabbed on of his hands. This snapped Roach out of it.

"Look...Bug, I know how much this place means to you and how much you're gonna miss it, maybe you can get a job at the S.A.S training grounds in Crendenhill."

"Yeah. Maybe. How come you're not that upset?" Did Ghost not like it here? or was he just hiding his feelings?

"Who say I'm not. This place was home. Most of the people here have families to go back too. I don't." Roach was slightly taken aback by how forthcoming Ghost was. He was never the one to open up about his emotions, at least until now that is.

"I could be your family." Ghost looked up from the cup in his hands and gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Roach shook his head in disbelief. Sometimes Ghost could be very dense. That or he was just playing and wants to know what people's motives were.

"I'm saying, since I know you don't have a family. That I could be. Family doesn't end with blood Simon." Roach stated simply. Ghost didn't say anything, he just stared at his hands. Roach knew he was contemplating his words. It was better not to say anything.

"I think I can live with that." mumbled Ghost.

Roach smiled. He thought about what Ghost said about getting a job in Crendenhill. What would they do for jobs. Roach could get a normal job and Ghost could work for the S.A.S. Roach could see a normal job wouldn't suit Ghost, unless he was a bouncer in a bar. During Roach's brainstorming, he had that imaginary light bulb go off in that head of his. "Do you want to live in Hereford?"

"I don't mind. Do you?"

"No, not at all. I was thinking we can buy a house in Hereford. You could work at the training grounds and I could get a regular job or work there as well. What do you think?" Roach started to get all giddy. He was excited for the future and what it holds for him and Ghost.

"Yeah. It sounds fine. You don't want to stay in the states?"

"No. I think a new place would be better. New memories. It would be like starting over."

"Now that you've mentioned it. That sounds like a brilliant idea." Roach smiled. He was glad Ghost was okay with this idea of his.

"We still need to pick a place to live. That's better said than done since no one here has a laptop." Roach sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Shite. Do you have any other ideas in that brain of yours Gary?"

"One." Roach stated.

"And?"

"We could live at my place until we find somewhere to live in Hereford? I have some money saved up so we wouldn't have to find a job before we moved." Ghost nodded. It was a good idea as any. "Uh. I live in a one bedroom apartment by the way." Roach said sheepishly.

He didn't know if Ghost would be okay with that. Yes they did share a bed last night, but they just got together. He wasn't sure how fast Ghost wanted to take this. He could sleep on the couch if he wanted. "That's fine. Did you forget we slept in the same bed last night?"

"I know that. I'm just making sure you're okay with it. And I'm also okay if you want to sleep on the couch instead of the bed." Ghost just nodded. Roach would see how thing pan out when they're back at his place.

Ghost got up from the table. Making Roach give him a confused look. "I'm going to train, you wanna come?"

Roach got up from the table and put their coffee cups in the sink. "Sure. At least you can train." Roach mocked. He hated how he couldn't do anything because of these injury's

Ghost went to retrieve his beloved ACR, while Roach went to observation box. When Ghost walked out he had a bewildered look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm gonna miss this gun."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Since I'm working on 4 different fics at once. I'm gonna try to have a chapter up at least every week. I'm sorry it's short. Hope you enjoy!**

Roach couldn't stop laughing. Out of everything, Ghost was going to miss his beloved ACR the most. Roach found it comical.

"Mate. It's not that funny. You can stop laughing now." Ghost glared at Roach when he wouldn't stop laughing. Roach tried to calm himself down before he started crying on the spot.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's just funny, that's all." He was still on the cusp of laughing again. Ghost just shook his head and walked away. Roach sat down in the observation box to watch what his boyfriend does best. _Boyfriend_. Roach smirked when he thought of that word. _The infamous Simon "Ghost" Riley is his boyfriend._ Roach couldn't be happier. Ghost's injury's didn't seem to affect his abilities on the course. He still held the record for best time, even while injured. Roach was a little envious with how good Ghost is. He tried to beat his score more than once and failed each time. He decided it would be best just to try and break his own record. Eventually he did.

Once Ghost was done, he walked back into the armory to put back the ACR. Roach met him outside the room. He leaned on the wall with his hands in his pockets. There's not much to do now. There were about a handful maybe more left of the 141. Thanks to Shepherd and the shadow company. Ghost walked out of the armory and saw Roach leaning against the wall. "Fancy seeing you here."

Roach gave Ghost a little shove for his sarcastic remark. "Shut up."

They started to walk around the base, since there was nothing better to do. They wouldn't be aloud to go back to Roach's place until Soap and Price would be back. _If they come back_. That thought crossed Roach's mind more than once since they've left. "Do you think they'll make it back?"

"Soap and Price?" Roach nodded. They left a week ago and they still weren't back. It could be a number of things why they haven't, but it still made Roach worry.

"They'll be fine. Shepherd's probably being his usual wanker self and running away. We should be out there with them." Ghost stated. A tint of anger in his voice.

"Yeah. You're probably right." Ghost wanted to go after Shepherd ever since he woke up in the infirmary. Soap insisted Ghost should stay here and heal. The only reason he obeyed the order was because of Roach.

"We're both not fit for active duty, remember?"

"Bollocks. Fucking Shepherd. He's lucky Soap and Price are after him. If it was me, I would make him suffer." Roach just hummed his answer. He wanted to be out there too. To help catch the bastard. Ghost never trusted Shepherd. He was partially grateful Shepherd recruited him after the incident with his family, but he never fully trusted him. A man who doesn't care about his troops is no man to be trusted. Shepherd would have murdered anyone and everyone if it kept him safe.

They ended up outside. Roach kicked at a rock that was by his feet and looked around. This place used to be busy, you could see a person everywhere you turned, along with tanks and armored vehicles being moved, even the occasional helicopter. Now it was basically a ghost town. Night was fast approaching, with it being too dark to see much of anything, they went back inside.

"You hungry?" Roach asked as he clenched his growling stomach. He didn't realize how hungry he was until he smelled whatever the other person was cooking.

"Yeah. Food sounds good." The closer they got to the kitchen, the more prominent the smell became. It only made Roach's stomach growl more. Entering the kitchen, they spotted Chemo.

"That smells good. What'd you make?" Roach asked while he grabbed the loaf of bread.

"Chicken parm." Chemo simply stated. With that, he left the kitchen, leaving Ghost and Roach alone. Roach was too hungry to cook anything, so he decided to make a turkey sandwich. With him being to immersed in making his sandwich, he never noticed Ghost was staring at him. When he went back to the refrigerator to grab the lettuce he finally noticed.

"Why...why are you staring at me?" Ghost let a small laugh escape his lips, walking over to stand in front of Roach.

"You're just cute to watch, that's all." Roach could feel his cheeks heat up. He tried to hide the red tint, he knew he failed when he heard Ghost laugh again.

"Come here." Ghost grabbed the front of Roach's shirt and pulled him in for a kiss...The first kiss in hours. Roach missed the contact. He missed his lips on Ghost's. He pulled away after sometime. Ghost giving him a look.

"We can continue this later. Food now." Roach said while walking back to the table to finish making his sandwich. Ghost let out a disappointing sigh and walked over to make one himself. Once he was done, he waited patiently for Ghost to finish making his. With all the ingredients back in their respectable places, they went back into the rec-room. Sitting on the couch, Roach took no time in shoving the sandwich in his mouth. A satisfied moan leaving his him.

"Is this how it's going to be living with you?" Ghost asked after a bite. Roach waited to finish the bite in his mouth before answering.

"Yes. You agreed to it so." Roach shrugged, taking another bite. Ghost didn't say anything, he did agree to it. He'd take Roach and his love for food over being alone any day. It wasn't long after when Roach started complaining about a stomach ache. He was sprawled out of the couch groaning and clutching his stomach.

"You wouldn't have a stomach ache if you didn't scarf down that sandwich in less than 30 seconds and did the same to the other 2 you made." said Ghost. Roach stopped his groaning to glare at him.

"It's not my fault, I was hungry...God I haven't felt this full since I was a teenager." Roach was always good with eating in moderation when he was working. When he was on leave, that was a different story.

"It's not your fault, huh? Did your legs involuntarily walk you back to the kitchen to make another sandwich?" said Ghost who let out an amused laugh. He looked at the mess of a boyfriend he had and shook his head, turning his head back to the tv to resume what he was watching.

"Shut up you bastard" mumbled Roach. Ghost returned his attention back to Roach, he arched an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, Chemo busted into the room. Roach and Ghost gave him a bewildered look.

"Guys come here." was all Chemo said before leaving. Roach and Ghost got up off the coach and headed in Chemo's direction. Chemo didn't say anything, he just them follow him. Coming to the infirmary Roach spotted what Chemo got them for. Sitting on one of beds getting looked at was Soap, Price sat in a chair next to him. It didn't look like they were injured too badly, which is good. Roach let out a relieved sigh. He was happy to know his friends were alive. He walked into the room to see how they were. Soap and Price glanced over to the door when they heard it open.

"You know, I'm happy you guys are alive..but could you have at least radioed us or something. I was worried." Roach crossed his arms and stared at Soap.

"Sorry mate. Radio got broken when we attacked shadow company." said Soap. Roach nodded. He looked over Soap trying to asses his injury's.

"What's the damage. It doesn't look like you guy's got too injured?" asked Roach. He glanced over to Price, who was lighting a cigar. Roach shook his head and let out a chuckle. Leave it to Price to light a cigar in the infirmary.

"Just a bunch of scraps and bruises for the most part. I got stabbed by Shepherd, luckily Price showed up just in time." said Soap. He lifted his shirt to show Roach. It was in his lower abdomen. He flinched when he saw it. It brought back what happened 3 weeks ago.

"What about you?" asked Roach. Price hasn't said a word since he's came in.

"He's fine mate. Just angry." said Soap. He glanced over to Price than back to Roach.

"Don't you bloody say anything Soap." Hissed Price after a moment. Roach raised an eyebrow, something happened. But what? Roach wondered. Soap laughed and told them anyways.

"Shepherd got the upper hand when Price came to my rescue. I ended up having to save his arse."

Roach turned to Price, who shot him a warning look. "Well it looks like you bested him since you're still here." said Roach. He was hoping that would help, but Price just scoff at the comment. Better to leave him alone until he cools down.

"I'll leave you guys alone now. Have a nice night!" Roach left the room. He realized Ghost wasn't with him. Was Ghost even in the room with him, now that he thinks of it, no he wasn't. The first place he'd check was their room. Opening the door he spotted who he was looking for. Ghost was on the bed reading a book. Roach closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of the bed. Ghost didn't say anything, just kept his attention to his book, but Roach could tell there was something wrong by the atmosphere in the room.

"You okay?" asked Roach. Ghost sighed and but down his book.

"Everything's fine, why?" said Ghost. Roach hoped Ghost would open up more with his feeling when they move in together. Even though Ghost has opened up more since the incident, he was still closed off a little. Bad habits are hard to break sometime.

"No it's not. Talk to me." said Roach. He covered Ghost's hand with his own. Ghost moved his hand from Roach's and got off the bed. Roach watched every move. Ghost leaned over the desk and took a deep breath.

"I can't go in there." mumbled Ghost. Roach got off the bed and went to his side. He put his hand on his back, hoping the gestured would help ease what he was going through.

"Why not?" asked Roach. Ghost turned to Roach and gave him a small smile.

"It brings me back to when you were there." said Ghost. Of course, why didn't he think of that. Those memory's of seeing Roach in the infirmary right after the incident were still fresh in his mind. Roach did his best to push those memory's as far away as possible.

"I can't lose you Gary." Those words were barely above a whisper but Roach heard them. Roach cupped the side of Ghost's face, Ghost leaned into the touch.

"You're not going to lose me Simon. Never have, never will." Roach leaned over to kiss Ghost. That seemed to be the right push. Ghost broke the kiss and smiled at him. Taking his hand and pulling onto the bed. Roach moved so his back was against the wall, leaving enough room for Ghost to lay down. Once Ghost was settled, Roach scooted over so his head was resting on his chest.

Roach smiled to himself. He was cuddling in bed with the man he loves and his friends are alive. Now the only thing left to do is tell Soap and Price about their retirement plan. In his eyes the future was looking promising.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry this is so short. The next chapter will be much longer. Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far!**

It's been about a week since Price and Soap returned. Roach and Ghost waited a few days before telling them the news. Soap understood why they wanted to retire and wish themed well. Roach was in his room, packing up his belongings. They were leaving this afternoon. Once he got all of his stuff packed, he looked around his room to make sure he didn't forget anything.

He headed towards Ghost's room afterwards. Knocking on the door. "It's me."

"You know you don't need to knock Gary. Just come on in." Roach open the door and walked inside.

"I know. Just being courteous I guess." Roach lifted and dropped his shoulders. He sat down next to Ghost on his bed. "Everything ready?"

"Yeah. I packed a few hours ago. You?"

"Just finished. We should be leaving within the hour."

Roach couldn't wait to get back to his apartment. He couldn't wait to start his life with Gho- Simon. Roach couldn't help but smile to himself. He thought of all his favorite places he wanted to show Simon before they moved to England. When he first joined the 141 he never thought he would fall for a superior and end up living with them. But here he was.

"Gary. Oi Gary." Roach snapped out of his daze and looked at Ghost.

"Huh? Oh sorry. What'd you say?" Roach's cheeks started to turn pink and he gave a small apologetic smile. Ghost shook his head and chuckled.

"I didn't say anything. You just had that look on your face mate."

"What look?" asked Roach. He was clearly confused, he didn't realize he even made a 'look' on his face when he did that.

"When you're deep in thought. You tend to stare off into space."

"Oh sorry." Ghost laugh and kissed the side of his face.

"No need to apologize. It's pretty cute. What was it about?" The pink tint on Roach's cheeks grew a little more. He tried to hide it. Which only made Ghost laugh even more.

"I highly doubt it's cute. It was about...us." Roach intertwined their hands together. Ghost still had some burns on his arms that were slowly healing. He laid his head on his shoulders.

"Hmm. Was it good?" Ghost laid his head on top of Roach's.

"Always is."

They stayed in Ghost's room until Soap came and got them. Soap walked them to the chopper. "You guy's were great soldiers. We're gonna miss ya numpty's."

Ghost and Roach rolled their eyes at Soap's compliment.

"Thanks Soap. I'm sure you guys ain't gonna do so well without me around." said Ghost sarcastically.

"Aye. You're good. But you're not that good." said Soap. Roach interrupted them before it became a competition between them.

"Well we're gonna miss you Soap."

"You too. Have a safe flight and you know there's always a place here for you guys."

"Thanks Soap." said Roach and Ghost in unison.

They gave a last wave to their Captain and got on the chopper. Roach watched as the base became smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing all together. He leaned back and sighed. Ghost intertwined their hands together and gave him a smile. It was the start to a new life for one Gary Sanderson and Simon Riley.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm so sorry for such a long wait, it's been so long since I've written these two that I'm finding it hard to get back into the swing of things. And I also had to redo the outline of this fic since I changed the plot. Anyways I hope you enjoy and I hope you like my portrayal of Ghost!**

* * *

After an agonizingly long flight, they were finally outside Gary's apartment building. They both got out of the car and stretched. Simon glanced at the building as he stretched his arms above his head, feeling the muscles in his back start to loosen up a bit. He was in need of a hot shower, that's for sure.

Gary walked around to the back of the car and popped the trunk. All they had were their duffel bags filled with the limited clothing they brought from home. There was no need for casual wear anyways, they were always in some sort of 141 uniform. Gary grabbed his, slinging it over his shoulder. Then Simon grabbed his, holding it at his side.

"You ready to go in or are you just going to stare at the building all day?" Gary chuckled at the glare Simon shot him as he shut the trunk. "Just wondering, you were the one staring at it."

"I just didn't picture you living in a place that seems so posh."

"It's really not."

They started walking to the front entrance, Simon only hummed his response. When he walked into the building, the main entrance was very modern, more so than his taste. The floor was lined in white linoleum tile, a few black chairs with a small wooden table in the corner and a few benches.

"This is posh Gary."

"Okay okay it's kinda posh."

Simon chuckled and followed him to the elevator. Gary pushed the button to the elevator, waiting not even a few seconds before the doors slid open. They got in and Gary pushed the button for floor five. As the doors slid shut, Simon fiddled with the duffel bag in hand. It felt a tad foreign to him, being a civilian again, and now he had much more time on his hands.

When the elevator doors opened Simon followed Gary to his apartment. He wasn't too keen on how fancy-ish the building was, it made him feel slightly out of place. But it was something he could get used too, and it was far better than his one bedroom flat back in Manchester.

After going down the hall, Gary stopped in front of his door as he got his keys out of his pocket. Then turned to Simon. "I know this isn't your scene and all but I'm glad you agreed to this. Living with me that is."

"I can deal with this posh-ness, it's far better than my flat that's for sure. And I'm glad too bug."

"Are you seriously going to keep calling me that?"

"Yes."

Gary rolled his eyes and unlocked the door. With a blind hand he found the switch and turned on the light, illuminating the apartment in a bright light.

Simon walked in behind him, closing the door. He looked around the room, seeing a decent size living room with a black leather couch, a TV that was hooked to the wall and a huge entertainment center filled with books and movies. There were also some pictures and art piece on the walls.

Adjacent to the living room was the kitchen. That too was a decent size, though he wasn't much of a cook or baker to be exact but he did know how to make a few good dishes.

"We can drop our bags off in our room."

Simon nodded and followed Gary once more. The bedroom looked to be the same size as the living room. A queen size bed was against the one big window in the room. To the left was a dresser and the closet door, and to the right was the bathroom. He also noticed he didn't have any decor in his room beside a small picture on his nightstand.

"Roomy." said Simon as he placed his bag on the bed.

"Yeah." Gary too placed his bag on the bed and sighed. "It feels weird being back."

"Why's that?"

Gary pushed his bag aside and sat down on the bed with a long sigh. "I never thought I would be a civilian again, or at least not until I was old and gray. I liked my job, I liked working with Task Force 141 and Shepherd took that away."

Simon moved his bag and sat down next to him, he knew exactly how Gary felt. He went through the exact same feeling after Roba, but unlike now, he had the 141 to go to instead of choosing a civilian life.

"After the death of my family, the 141 became my family. I enjoyed working with Soap, Price and you. The Army gave me a sense of purpose, to be better. As did the 141. Shepherd deserves to burn in the deepest pit of hell for what he did, to us, to the 141. Along with the rest of his Shadow Company wankers." He sighed and met Gary's gaze. "We both might not have wanted to become civilians just yet, and we have a lot more free time on our hands now. Who knows bug, we might enjoy it."

"That's true." He chuckled. "I know I was the one who wanted to retire, now that I'm home it feels weird."

"Don't sweat it Gary, we both have to get used to this."

"That is also true." He stood back up, grabbing his bag and opened it. "There's some space in the closet for your clothes that you want hung and I can clean out a drawer or two in the dresser for you as well."

"Sounds good, I don't have that much anyways."

Simon pulled his bag closer to him, opening it up and taking out everything he brought. He couldn't have had more than ten outfits with him, he would definitely need to go back to Manchester to grab the rest of his clothes. Because shopping was out of the question.

"We should've stopped back in Manchester so I could've grabbed the rest of my clothes."

"Why didn't you say something beforehand Simon? We could've stopped there before coming here."

Simon shrugged his shoulders. "Didn't want to do all that flying."

Gary sighed through his nose and shook his head, then went back to unpacking. Simon couldn't help but giggle.

For the most part Simon hung up his clothes, minus his socks and boxers that he put in the dresser. With that out of the way, they had the rest of the evening to spare and neither could agree on what to do. Simon wanted to stay in and relax since his body was still recovering from the incident as was Gary's. But Gary wanted to take a long stroll around the neighborhood, which Simon didn't want to by how tired he felt. In the end Simon caved and found himself walking hand in hand with Gary around the neighborhood.

The weather was warm with a cool breeze, and the sun was just setting. Illuminating the sky in orange and yellows and you could hear the birds chirping away. It brought him back to the walks he used to take his nephew on when the weather was nice. How they would end up at a nearby park for an hour or so where his nephew could play.

Gary glanced over at him with how quiet he was, a small smile forming on his face when he saw he was lost in thought. "Is it a good one?"

"Huh?" Simon snapped back to reality at the sound of his voice. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"What you were lost in thought with. Was it good?"

"It was and bittersweet." He sighed and looked down for a moment. "I used to bring my nephew Joseph on walks like these when the weather was nice, we would stop at a nearby park where I would let him play for an hour or so. He always made me push him on the swing or help him across the monkey bars. He was such a happy kid."

Gary's face softened and a small smile spread across his face. He'll never be able to fully understand what it's like to lose everyone you hold dear, and he hates that Simon had to go through it. But he was happy that he was embracing the memories instead of trying to hold them at bay, and truthfully he loved hearing about his family.

"He loved you Simon, and I'm sure he loved every second with you."

"I loved him too. Yet I couldn't save him."

"Simon.."

He stopped walking and turned towards him. "I know what happened with my family isn't my fault. I know that now, but Gary, Joseph wasn't more than four years old. He was just a child with a full life ahead of him. If anyone deserved to live, it should've been him. What type of monster murders a child?"

"The heartless."

"Yeah."

Simon found himself in a tight hug, the sudden contact made him tense for second before relaxing in Gary's arms. His own arms wrapping around his waist. It wasn't long before Gary pulled away and gave him a quick kiss.

"You wanna head back?"

"Sure."

The walk back to the apartment was quiet between, just enjoying the fresh air and each other's company. And the rest of the night was spent snuggling up on the couch to watch a few movies with some beers and snacks. But as the night dwindled on, they eventually decided it was a good time to go to bed.

Unfortunately for Simon, sleep didn't come. So as he laid awake with Gary asleep in his arms, he stared at the black ceiling above. His mind flashed back to when he first met Gary, they were both being recruited to Task Force 141 and ended up rooming together during. Simon was already in their shared room, making sure his balaclavas were clean when he walked in.

His blonde hair was cut short, and he was in his S.A.S fatigues with his duffel bag slung across his shoulder. How he immediately started his small talk, that he learned to love. He never expected five years down the road he would actually end up with someone as caring as Gary. Someone who could handle the stress of the job, and all the baggage he came with.

Now as he lies in bed, Gary softly snoring beside him, he wouldn't trade it for the world.


End file.
